Within mobile communications networks there is a trend towards ever faster over-the-air data rates. For example, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) offers data rates of around 56 to 114 kilobits per second over the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), whereas next generation mobile broadband technologies such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Mobile Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) and their descendants offer data rates of around 1 gigabit per second and higher.
Typically, higher data rates are enabled by developments in radio frequency signalling technology. For example, these developments may be embodied in new radio frequency integrated circuits that provide the necessary radio frequency signal processing. These new radio frequency integrated circuits may use newer physical interface standards, such as the fourth revision of the DigRF standard adopted by the MIPI Alliance. This in turn requires integrated circuits that interface with the new radio frequency integrated circuits to also be revised to use the newer physical interface standards. These may include baseband integrated circuits. This requires revisions to the manufacturing of mobile device integrated circuits and results in higher costs.
“Implementing an SLVS Transceiver” as published in issue 10 of EDN Magazine on 26 May 2011 describes Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) adaptations to provide an SLVS-compatible interface. A bespoke FPGA generates a modified Low-Voltage Differential Signalling (LVDS) signal that can be received by a Scalable Low-Voltage Signalling (SLVS) peer device.
It is thus desirable to be able to support higher data rates in mobile communications devices without complex components and at a low cost.